Simple, inexpensive and loved by kids the world over, pancakes are the perfect blank canvas with which to get experimental in the kitchen with your kids and try cooking up some super effective (and super delicious) pancake art.
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Consisting of just three base ingredients - flour, milk and eggs - this core recipe can be adapted with varying degrees of baking agents to go flat or fluffy, depending on whether you want crisp and creative French-style crepes, or puffy and pillowy American-style pancakes.
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The great things about pancakes for kids is that they can be presented with fresh, healthy ingredients to get children excited about eating their five servings of fresh fruits or vegetables...
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Or they can be combined with fun and indulgent toppings for a special weekend treat.
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The versatile and simple-to-cook foodstuff can of course easily be shaped and decorated to make all sorts of tempting and incredible patterns and pictures.
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One mum who has become an expert at so-called Pancake Art is Danielle de Luna, a mum of two kids aged 3 and 6, who shares her foodie fun on Instagram under the account @my_mama_made_that.
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The American stay-at-home mum told Gulf News that she perfected her Pancake Art during lockdown after the pandemic hit.
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“My background is in sculpture and architecture and I have always loved cooking,” says Danielle.
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“I had made a few pancake art pieces before the pandemic, but after school was cancelled I got more into it. Our mornings were much more relaxed so I had time to make more pancake designs.”
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Danielle says that food art is an easy, functional way for her to be creative, while also feeding her kids. “They also love it and love being surprised.”
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Danielle creates pancake designs for every occasion and season – from birthdays to Christmas to Halloween.
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The pancakes can even serve as a teaching tool, like this ‘Sight Words’ design, which she made to help her little ones with their learning.
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Danielle says the tools she uses for making her pancakes are very simple.
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“I have my go-to American pancake recipe and I use a reusable piping bag. Everything else is just making shapes.”
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Danielle has also become an avid collector of cookie cutter molds, to help her cut the pancakes into interesting shapes: “I love molds, cookie cutters, seaweed shape cutters, sandwich cutters etc.”
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She applies her artistic skills to other kid-friendly food forms too (like bento boxes or these waffles) and she says that her pancake experiments have also improved her photography skills: “I have never been a good photographer but trying to document what I make has forced me to learn more and get better.”
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Danielle strives to make her pancake art as healthy and nutritious for her kids as possible – while also presenting them as a creative and special treat.
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“I usually try to use fruits for décor, but I also use fresh whipped cream and chocolate pens for some of the details.”
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During the pandemic, with her kids off school and nursery, cooking has been a great way for her family to bond and served as a fun, constructive activity.
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“My kids go to French school so they have had a tutor for French, and I'm the English teacher and art teacher. But we also do a lot of cooking together.” You can follow Danielle on Instagram @my_mama_made_that.
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